Trout
Season to Open with Almost 25,000 Acres of Water Supply Lands
Open for Fishing

To
date 98,600 Access Permits issued

“Fish
Tales” to document big catches

Commissioner Emily Lloyd of the New York City Department
of Environmental Protection (DEP) announced today that the DEP
has 24,876 acres of water supply lands with numerous streams open
for fishing as trout season begins on April 1st. Fishing
is also available on 19 reservoirs and two controlled lakes with
a water surface of over 33,500 acres accessible from shoreline
or by boat.

“The City’s water supply provides some
of the best trout fishing in the country, and interest in fishing
on DEP lands continues to grow every year,” said Commissioner
Lloyd. “We continue to create new opportunities that
attract people to the region. In the past year alone there
were 14,510 Access Permits issued, and most of those are to people
who want to fish in the reservoirs or in streams on protected water
supply lands.”

Access to most water supply lands for recreation
requires a free Access Permit. Permits are issued for five
years and are sent to applicants through the mail. Applications
are on the Web at www.nyc.gov/watershedrecreation and at DEP offices
in the City and throughout the watershed. Allow two weeks
for processing. There are 98,600 valid Access Permits issued
to date. As in all parts of the state, a state fishing license
is also required for fishing.

Over 9,000 Boat Tags are currently in use on City
reservoirs. Of the people who received Access Permits in
the last year, 41% said they intend to fish from a boat. A
recent survey of boating anglers showed that half of the fish caught
from boats in City reservoirs were bass, with brown trout (15%),
lake trout (6%) and walleye (2%) also being reported.

Aluminum and metal-alloy rowboats between 11’6” and
16’ in length and at least 42” wide are allowed on
the reservoirs. Boats must be steam-cleaned by DEP before
being placed on a reservoir because of concerns about the spread
of zebra mussels. Boats must also remain at the reservoir
where they are located, and have a current DEP Boat Tag. Boaters
can call DEP Land Management offices for information about ice
remaining in some of the coves in western and northern locations.

The DEP will post photos of fish caught on water supply lands
in a new section of its Web site called “Fish Tales.” Access
Permit holders are encouraged to email photos of themselves holding
their best catch to FishTales@dep.nyc.gov. Submissions should
include the name and hometown of the fisherman, the type of fish
and its dimensions, and the date, time and location of the catch. Other
information such as the type of lure used and any interesting anecdotes
about the catch are welcome too. Photos and information will
be posted at www.nyc.gov/dep. Fish Tales can also be mailed
to:

For more information about fishing, hunting and other recreational
use of City lands, see the Web at www.nyc.gov/watershedrecreation
or call DEP at (800) 575-LAND. Local DEP Land Management
offices can also be contacted at: Ashokan (845) 657-2663, Downsville
(607) 363-7009, Gilboa (607) 588-6231, Grahamsville (845) 985-0386
or Mahopac (914) 232-1309. Email questions to permits@dep.nyc.gov.

In addition to streams on water supply lands, fishing is available
at these East of Hudson DEP reservoirs and controlled lakes. (Acreage
figures indicate normal water surface area and may vary as water
levels fluctuate):

Westchester County:

Putnam County:

Amawalk

687 acres

Bog Brook

381 acres

Cross River

900 acres

Boyd’s Corner

222 acres

Kensico

2,071 acres

Croton Falls

1,039 acres

Muscoot

821 acres

Diverting

125 acres

New Croton

1,957 acres

East Branch

521 acres

Titicus

682 acres

Lake Gilead

120 acres

Lake Gleneida

168 acres

Middle Branch

404 acres

West Branch

1,003 acres

In the West of Hudson watershed, various streams and all six DEP
reservoirs are open for fishing, including: Ashokan (Ulster
County, 8,069 acres); Rondout (Ulster/Sullivan Counties, 2,032
acres); Schoharie (Schoharie/Delaware/Greene Counties, 1,132 acres);
Neversink (Sullivan County, 1,480 acres); Pepacton (Delaware County,
5,179 acres); and Cannonsville (Delaware County, 4,568 acres). The
surface area of the Schoharie Reservoir is likely to be smaller
because of ongoing construction work at the Gilboa Dam.